A Powerful Mind
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: An alien race has captured Luke for their plan to destroy the Earth. Together with help from the Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness, and the Doctor's companions, Amy and Rory, Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani fight to save him before he dies.
1. Chapter 1

A Powerful Mind

Chapter One

Sarah Jane Smith sat at her computer inside her attic doing some research about some old case files that have gone unsolved. It was a quiet day and she looked forward to when her fifteen year old son, Luke, would come home from school, along with his friends, Rani and Clyde.

Today was Friday and they had plans this weekend to go on a camping trip. Rani's parents were going to be out of town as well and so Rani was the one who suggested that they do something different. Luke has never been camping before and Clyde couldn't wait to teach him everything there was to know about surviving in the great outsides. Both Rani and Clyde had packed their bags and brought them over to Sarah Jane's the night before so that they would be ready to leave after school.

Sarah Jane grew tired of looking at her computer screen and decided to go down into the kitchen to make some chocolate chip cookies for the kids when they came in. School was finally let out and they soon walked through the door.

"Hello, Luke," Sarah Jane spoke first as she leaned down to kiss the top of her son's head. "How was your last day of school?"

"There was a new student in my mathematics class today," Luke replied. "Something about him was odd. He looked at me strangely. Like he knew that I was different. I don't know, maybe I was just imagining it all. I'm good. How about you, Mum? Are you all right?"

"I am bored," she answered as she gave Luke a hug. "I was only going over old cases. It has been a quiet day. I am so glad that you are home; all of you. I made us some cookies to eat before we leave. I cannot wait to gather around a warm camp fire and tell ghost stories."

Luke asked, "How do we tell stories about ghosts? We haven't come across any yet."

Clyde laughed as he responded, "Ghost stories are just scary stories that we make up for fun, Luke. They are not meant to be real."

Luke asked again, "Is it funny to scare each other?"

"Only when it is done in fun," Rani said. "Telling ghosts stories is a camping tradition. Children love it."

"Have each of you finished packing everything that you will need," asked Sarah Jane? "There will be no turning back once we leave."

Luke said, "I have a few more things to pack before we go. I will be upstairs."

Luke left the room and Sarah Jane could definitely see that something was troubling him. She knew now that if something was bothering her son, that there was more to it than just a bad feeling. She's known this ever since Luke had his first nightmare about Mrs. Wormwood coming back.

She asked, "Clyde, Rani, have either of you noticed something strange about this new boy in school? Should I be worried?"

Clyde answered, "He didn't seem strange to me, but I wasn't really paying much attention to him. I was too busy staring at Abbey Kingsford. She is so beautiful and smart."

"Then she won't want anything to do with you," Rani replied.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny," Clyde said. "You are a riot!"

Rani looked at Sarah Jane and said, "I'm sorry, Sarah Jane. I didn't notice anything strange about this new guy either. I didn't see much of him. As Luke said, I am sure it is just his imagination. Do you think we should be worried?"

Sarah Jane answered, "I don't know. Ever since Luke dreamt about Mrs. Wormwood and she came back, I feel that it might be important to listen to his intuition. It may be nothing.

"Don't worry, Sarah Jane," Clyde said. "We will keep our eye on him; Rani and me. No one will harm our boy, Luke."

"Thank you, Clyde," Sarah Jane answered. "I am going to go talk to him. Enjoy the cookies and milk."

Sarah Jane walked up stairs to her son's room and before she went inside, she looked through the open door and watched as Luke was starring out of his window, instead of packing for their trip. Something was obviously bothering him.

She walked in and asked, "Luke, are you really all right? What is wrong? You can tell me. Is it still the new boy in school?"

Luke answered, "No, not really. I mean, it is. I don't know how to explain it. There is something strange about him and I don't understand it. I don't feel good when I am around him."

"Everyone gets weird looks from people from time to time," she responded. "I do too. However, I have learned not to let it bother me so much. In time, you will be able to do the same."

"You're right, Mum," Luke said. "I am almost finished packing. I just need to grab a few more things. I will be down in a minute."

Sarah Jane gave her son a reassuring hug and walked back downstairs. She went to her room to finish packing herself. Then, she walked up to the attic to make sure that Mr. Smith was caught up to speed with their trip and that their communication device was working properly. Afterward, she walked out to find Luke, Clyde, and Rani laughing as they finished up the last of her cookies and the milk she put on the table. She smiled as she joined them.

No one noticed an unfamiliar face watching them from outside the house. A twisted smile came upon the face, as he looked forward to following through with his orders given to him by his superiors; to capture the boy known as Luke Smith.


	2. Chapter 2

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Two

After driving for a few hours into Wales from their home on Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane Smith and the kids found an area that was perfect for camping. Clyde, Rani, and Luke passed the time by playing the alphabet game, a game that Luke didn't understand the point of at first. Rani explained that there was no real point in the game, except to beat the others at finding the letters. Clyde told him to just give it a chance, so Luke did and ended up winning each game they played.

"It's just beginner's luck," Clyde said when they finished their most recent game. "In time we will be able to beat you."

"I just have good eyesight," Luke replied. "I do not believe in luck. It is the deterministic concept that there is a force which proscribes that certain events occur very much the way the laws of physics will proscribe that certain events occur. It is also only a descriptive name we give to events after they occur which we find to be fortuitous."

Rani said, "I am not even going to ask what encyclopedia you got that definition from. Let's just say that you are very good at this game."

Sarah Jane only laughed and asked, "Can you boys grab the camping gear from the trunk, while Rani and I find us a spot to set up the tent? It is such a beautiful day. Come on, Rani."

Rani followed after Sarah Jane through the woods and the boys were not too far behind. They found the right place to set up the tent and when they were finished, they pulled out a few blankets from their packs and lay them out on the ground for them to sit on. Once they did that, Luke, Rani, and Clyde walked into the woods to gather firewood.

Luke was walking slower than Clyde and when they all got back to the campsite he said, "I have a bad feeling. Something is off."

Sarah Jane asked, "What do mean off? What do you feel exactly?"

"Like there are eyes on us," Luke responded. "I feel like someone is watching us. It is probably nothing. I guess that I am just feeling jumpy ever since Michael Gant kept looking at me today."

"You mean the new boy at school," Sarah Jane asked?

Luke nodded and kept looking around him. Clyde suggested that the three of them take a walk deeper into the woods to see if there was anything for them to really worry about. As they did so, Sarah Jane shouted out to them, telling them to not go too far. She remained by their tent and pulled out her communicator that linked her to Mr. Smith.

She asked, "Mr. Smith, can you hear me?"

Her super alien computer answered, "Yes, Sarah Jane. I can hear you. Is there something wrong?"

"I am not sure," she said. "Can you scan the area where we are for any signs of alien activity?"

"Of course," he replied. "I am assessing. According to my scans, there are no alien life signs around where you are. Why do you ask?"

"Luke has a sense that we are being watched," Sarah Jane responded. "He keeps saying that he is probably just imagining these things, but after the incident with Mrs. Wormwood, I don't want to take any chances. Can you do something else for me? Scan the school records for a new student by the name of Michael Gant. Something about him is upsetting Luke and I want to know why."

Mr. Smith answered, "I am assessing. According to the school records, there is no new student at all by the name of Michael Gant. Whoever this boy is at Luke's school, Michael is not his real name, or he did not register there."

Sarah Jane looked around in fear and wondered what this boy from school could possibly want. Chances are he was a threat and if Luke's intuition about him was right, he may know about who Luke really was. Luke felt that Michael looked at him funny. Sarah Jane got up from the ground and decided to go after the kids to let them know of the possible danger.

Meanwhile…

As Sarah Jane had asked, Luke, Clyde, and Rani didn't walk too far away from their campsite. They were about a half of a mile away. After looking around for a little over an hour, both Clyde and Rani claimed that they were alone. However, Luke believed differently. He knew that somehow, someone was following them.

"Luke, you are just being paranoid," Clyde said. "No one is there."

"I hate to say it, but Clyde is right Luke," Rani agreed. "The woods are usually a creepy place. Your eyes are just playing tricks on you."

Luke responded, "It isn't my eyes that are telling me that someone is there. I don't know how to explain it, but someone is here with us. Something bad is about to happen, I know it. We should get back to Mum and stay together."

Suddenly a voice from behind them said, "Your instincts are impressive, Luke Smith."

As the three of them turned around, they saw that it was Michael from school. They looked at him in surprise as he began to walk toward them. He looked human, but they knew that there were many aliens whom have the abilities to disguise themselves as whatever they needed to be.

"What are you," Clyde asked? "From the look on your face and the fact that you followed us all the way here, you can't be human. What do you want?"

"What I want is of no concern to you," Michael replied. "I am here for you, Luke. You have been chosen to help save the lives of my master and his people."

Both Clyde and Rani stepped forward in front of Luke in order to defend him, as Rani said, "Luke is going nowhere with you. Clyde asked you a question. What are you?"

Michael responded, "I am a movellan; an android. I was created by my master to come here to Earth to find them the one who will save his race and help them to destroy all of you humans. In time, you all will die. Luke's mind will give us the knowledge we need to do so. His mind is the greatest mind on this planet."

"I will never help you or your people destroy Earth," Luke said. "You will never be able to because we will stop you. We have powerful friends who will help us if you try to harm this world."

"Luke is right," Clyde spoke up. "We will stop you. Sarah Jane Smith will see to that."

Michael replied, "I do not know of this Sarah Jane Smith, but my masters will destroy her and the two of you as well."

Michael raised his arm and suddenly a powerful, invisible force threw Luke, Clyde, and Rani backward. Luke slammed into a tree, causing him to become unconscious. Clyde and Rani were still awake, but they could not move. Whatever force threw them back, caused them to have the wind knocked out of them. They hurt.

Sarah Jane came running into the clearing just as she saw a stranger bending over her son. Clyde and Rani finally managed to get up from behind Sarah Jane and the three of them started to run forward, but Michael picked Luke up in his arms as if he weighed nothing at all and suddenly the two of them disappeared.

Sarah Jane screamed her son's name, "Luke! Clyde, Rani, are you all right? What happened? Who just kidnapped my son?"

Clyde answered, "That was Michael Gant from school. Luke was right about him. He was following us and he did know about Luke. We have to find him."

"What did he want with Luke," Sarah Jane asked? "Did he say?"

"He said that he was a movellan; an android built by some alien race who wants to use Luke to save their kind and to destroy our world," Rani replied. "Michael didn't say who his master was, though. Nor did he say how he planned to use him."

"We are so sorry Sarah Jane," Clyde said. "We tried to help Luke, but that creep had some sort of telekinetic device in his hand. We couldn't move and Luke was knocked unconscious. From now on, I will never doubt his instincts again."

Sarah Jane had tears in her eyes as she said, "I had Mr. Smith scan the area for alien life, but he found nothing. We must get back to my house in order to find a way to save Luke and discover who these creatures are. I will not lose my son. Let's go!"

Sarah Jane, Rani, and Clyde all ran back to their camp site and began to pack up their things, until they suddenly heard a familiar sound that could mean only one thing. The Doctor has come.


	3. Chapter 3

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Three

After fading in and out for several seconds, the TARDIS finally landed a short distance from where Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani were standing. At that moment, Sarah Jane never felt so relieved. After watching her son get taken by an android, created by some unknown alien race, Sarah Jane briefly felt fear that she would not be in time to save him. That was until she did as she always did; pushed the fear aside and motivated herself to do whatever it took to stop them from harming Luke and accomplishing their goals. According to Clyde and Rani, they wanted to destroy all human life and use Luke to do it. That made them evil. However, knowing that the Doctor was here, reassured her that they would be successful, as they always were.

The three of them watched as the door opened to reveal a young woman with long, red hair and freckles on her face. Then, another person stepped out; a tall young man with sandy, blonde hair. Sarah Jane, Rani, and Clyde waited for the doctor to step out and finally one last person stepped out as he turned around to close the TARDIS door. However, they didn't see the Doctor, at least not the doctor they knew from before.

The man, who closed the TARDIS door behind him, suddenly ran up to Sarah Jane and pulled her into a big hug. As he let go of her, he quickly walked over to Clyde and Rani and shook both of their hands. Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani just stared at the man before them, who was smiling like a ninny.

"Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani; how wonderful it is to see you three again," the man spoke. "It is completely unexpected, but wonderful nevertheless."

"Doctor, it is you," Sarah Jane replied with relief in her voice. "You have regenerated again, I see."

Clyde was confused as he asked, "This is the Doctor? How is that possible? When we saw him, he was skinnier with blonde, funky hair. This guy looks nothing like the Doctor."

The Doctor answered, "I was forced to regenerate after I absorbed an enormous amount of radiation awhile back. It's the new me. What do you think? Do I look good? My hair is still not ginger and I now have a bow tie."

"What does it mean to regenerate," Rani asked?

"Whenever the Doctor is dying, he has the ability to reform his body in order to give himself a new life," Sarah Jane replied. "He is still the Doctor; same mind and memories. It is just a new look. I think that you look smashing."

"That reminds me," the Doctor said. "I want you three to meet my newest companions. This is Amelia Pond, or Amy, and her fiancée, Rory Williams. Guys, this is Sarah Jane Smith, a companion of mine from a long time ago, and her friends, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra, but where is Luke?"

Sarah Jane looked at the doctor pleadingly and responded, "He was just kidnapped by an android that called himself a movellan; created by an unknown alien race."

Clyde added, "He said that his master wanted to use him to save himself, his people, and then to destroy all humans on our planet. We have to stop them and save Luke!"

Amy finally spoke up saying, "How can kidnapping a child, cause the horrible things we've just seen, Doctor?"

"Amy has a good point," Rory said. "We were supposed to come to the moment that whatever happened to the people in the future first began."

"What do you mean, horrible things you have just seen," Sarah Jane asked? "What happened in the future and what does my son have to do with it?"

Amy responded, "We were supposed to see a major historical figure from a few years into the future, but when we got there, somehow most of the human population was wiped out. No one knew what happened, so the Doctor said we needed to go back to the beginning."

The Doctor replied, "I am not sure how Luke is involved, but…"

"Luke would never help an alien race destroy the Earth, Doctor," Sarah Jane interrupted in anger! "You know that!"

"I never meant to imply that your son willingly helped, but the TARDIS brought us here for a reason," the Doctor said. "Whoever kidnapped him, will somehow use him to wipe out all humans if we don't find out who they are and how to stop them. I promise that I will do whatever it takes to save your son, Sarah Jane."

She spoke quietly saying, "Thank you, Doctor. I cannot lose him. I will not lose him now!"

Rory said, "So, how do we go about finding out what these aliens are up to?"

Sarah Jane answered, "The three of us were about to go back to my house to talk to Mr. Smith to see if he could help us figure out who we are dealing with. It isn't much, but Mr. Smith is very clever."

"Who is Mr. Smith," Amy asked, "A friend of yours?"

"You can say that," Rani replied. "He is actually a supercomputer, or a member of a crystalline alien race known as the Xylok."

Clyde said, "He is really cool! He can hack into any computer all around the world and he helps us to save the world every day."

Rory responded, "That is amazing! I definitely want to see that."

The Doctor spoke up saying, "That is probably a good idea. Amy, you and Rory should go with Sarah Jane. Take a copy of the photo we took of the handprint we found for Mr. Smith to analyze. I need to go find an old friend and he has a tendency to travel to dangerous places. He may be able to help us to identify who they are. I will meet you all back there when I can."

The Doctor entered the TARDIS, which soon disappeared, and Sarah Jane, Clyde, Rani, Amy, and Rory all squeezed into her car. They drove back to Sarah Jane's home, hoping to find answers that would lead them to Luke.

"You know, it would have been nice if the Doctor could have given us a lift instead of having to be squished in this tiny car," Clyde complained. "I mean, I know that the Judoon banned us from traveling through space and all, but I really want to travel through space and time, just once."

"You may get your wish today, Clyde," Sarah Jane answered. "We will need to get to Luke as soon as we find out where the movellan took him and chances are it will be somewhere we can't travel to by car. I am willing to bend the law this once."

Amy asked, "What did you do to get yourselves banned from space travel and what are the Judoon?"

Rani replied, "The Judoon are an alien race who are sort of like bounty hunters and they look like Rhinoceroses in full body armor. We were banned because we interfered with their attempt to arrest an escaped prisoner of theirs. It's a long story."

"Yes, but is a long car ride," Sarah Jane said. "Go ahead and tell it."

Once Clyde finished talking about Androvax, the prisoner, and how he possessed Sarah Jane to destroy Earth, everyone continued to tell stories of their adventures in order to help pass the time. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane was thinking about her son and prayed that they would be in time to save him.


	4. Chapter 4

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Four

Luke awoke to a dark room, lit only by a chandelier outside of a cell which he was being held in. He slowly tried to lift himself from off the floor in order to look around, but his head hurt when he moved too fast. However, after a few minutes, he finally managed to stand and look around the room. The building was made of stone; looking like the inside of an old castle. He remembered taking a school trip to visit the Tower of London.

The room was cold and bare, he was alone. Luke was afraid, but he knew that he couldn't allow his fear to overpower him. He would be strong like his mum would be if she were in this situation. He hoped that she, Clyde, and Rani were all right and if they were, he knew that they would be looking for him right now. It was only a matter of time before they found him and stopped whatever aliens which created Michael to kidnap him.

A few minutes later, Michael walked into the room and as he looked at Luke he said, "The Master wishes to see you now. You will come with me."

Luke responded, "I don't care what your master wishes. My mum has stopped many alien races from destroying the Earth. She will stop you too."

"As I said once before, she will die in time, as well as your friends," Michael replied. "Come with me now."

Luke nodded as the movellan unlocked his cell door and pulled him out forcefully by his arm. Luke insisted that he didn't need to be pulled along. He had no idea where he was and he didn't want to run somewhere that he could get into even more trouble. However, the android didn't listen. He continued to pull him along until they came to what looked like the main hall. The room was huge and was once again lit by a large chandelier in the center of the ceiling, as well as several lit torches along the walls.

Michael guided Luke toward the far wall, where there was a stone throne in center. Sitting there was what looked like an old man in a brown robe, at first. However, as Luke came to a few feet away, he saw that it was definitely an alien of some kind. Its face was extremely wrinkled and brown. Its fingers were long and boney, as well as its body. Suddenly, four more aliens appeared who Luke believed to be, at the Master's sides. They all looked old and frail, as if they were hardly able to move.

The Master spoke saying, "So, you are Luke Smith, the boy who was grown from synthesized DNA."

Luke asked, "How do you know what I am and what are you? Why did you send a movellan to spy on me at school and then kidnap me?"

"We are known as Striga," it responded. "Human folklore and myths claimed we are witches, but we are actually aliens from a distance planet across the galaxies. A Great War known as the Time War occurred and most of our kind were destroyed. Those who survived tried to live in what was left of our world, but over time our world became a wasteland and we were no longer able to inhabit it. We had to find a new home, so we came here to Earth, only to be defeated by a small group of human warriors who called themselves Torchwood. The five of us are all that are left of our kind."

"We are dying and know that we have one more chance to save ourselves," continued one of the other Striga to the right of the Master. "We traveled from planet to planet looking for information that would help us to defeat you humans once and for all."

Another alien spoke up to the left of the Master saying, "We found another alien race known as the Slitheen, who gave us information all about the perfect human being who had the knowledge and power we would need to take over your world and replenish our kind; you."

Luke responded, "I will never help you. Earth is protected by powerful people. They will defeat you again. I suggest you release me and leave, or you will regret it."

"You do not have to be willing to help us," the Master replied. "We have an ability to read your mind and gain the strength we need to fight. Movellan, bring him close to me."

Michael stepped up behind Luke, grabbed him by his shoulders, and pushed him at arm's length to the Master. The Striga raised his long, boney fingers, placed them on each side of his head, and lowered its head as if to concentrate. Suddenly, Luke screamed in agony as the alien forced its way into his mind and read every thought and every memory Luke had. The pain lasted for what felt like an eternity to him.

When the Master finished, Luke collapsed to the floor, still in unbearable pain. Tremors shook through every part of his body and yet, he somehow managed to remain conscious. Most of the time he felt grateful that the Bane gave him perfect health and a stronger immunity to pain. However, today he wished that he was just like everyone else.

The Master was weak as well, but it looked at the boy in amazement, wondering how such a mind could fit into such a small body. This human child will give life back to the Master and its remaining subjects and the strength they need to turn the rest of the human population into Striga. They will live again, on Earth.

The Master ordered the movellan to carry Luke and place him upon the altar in the center of the main hall. Michael did as he was told and even though Luke could barely move, the android strapped his wrists into manacles above his head and others to restrain his legs. Very slowly, the Striga walked up to the altar and surrounded it. The Master lowered his mouth down close to Luke's, used its finger to keep his open, and began to drain his life force.

Once he finished, the Master stepped back and suddenly transformed into what looked to be a human being. Then, the other Strigas did the same, draining most of Luke's life from his body. A normal human being would only have enough life force for one. However, because of Luke's strength, he was able to restore life to all five. Luke was alive, but extremely weak as he was left alone to suffer the pain and fear of what the Strigas had planned for Earth, including his Mum, Clyde, and Rani.

He cried weakly saying, "Please, be all right, Mum. Please find me."


	5. Chapter 5

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Five

A good-looking man with dark hair, wearing a long, dark trench coat, sat at a table inside some exotic alien bar on a planet known as Barcelona. A close friend of his mentioned that this world was supposed to be fantastic, at least according to the Doctor, she said. She was right. There were a mix of humans and aliens and pretty much everyone was friendly. This was the place he came to when his life became difficult and lately, he's never been so angry.

Jack recently lost three of his good friends; Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and then Ianto Jones. If that wasn't bad enough, he was forced to watch his own grandson die for the sake of the entire Earth population. He was the one who killed him. His daughter hated him for it and he didn't blame her at all. He hated himself. The only thing he had to be thankful for was that his one remaining friend, Gwen Cooper and her husband, Rhys, survived and was hopefully safe, as long as he stayed away from them. He wouldn't risk harming anyone else he cared about.

Just as Jack poured back another shot of what the bartender called, pezdar, he saw a man come in with funky, brown hair, a bow tie, sneakers, and a long brown coat; a man he would know from anywhere no matter how many times he changed his appearance; the Doctor.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor began. "You look the same as always."

"Doctor, you don't look the same at all," Jack replied. "Yet, I'd know you anywhere. It's good to see you again."

The Doctor responded, "Well, that is very good to hear, indeed. It is good to see you as well. However, I am afraid this isn't a social call. I need your help with something."

Jack said, "Of course, what is it?"

"I was wondering if you recognize this," the Doctor answered as he showed Jack the picture of a handprint left behind on a wall of someone's home.

"Doctor, this is a handprint that belongs to an alien race known as the Striga," he stated. "Torchwood was forced to destroy them all when they invaded Earth years ago. Where did you find this? Are you telling me that some of them survived?"

The Doctor sighed and said, "It looks that way. Most of the Earth's population is taken over by these things, just years from now and it has just now begun. I set the TARDIS to bring me to the beginning of this invasion. I'll need your help to stop them again, before they harm anyone else. We will need you to tell us everything about them."

Jack replied, "Doctor, they are very dangerous and nearly impossible to kill. It won't be easy."

"It never is easy," the Doctor agreed.

"I will help you with whatever you need." Jack said. "Are you still traveling with Donna? How is she? Things were kind of crazy the last time we were together."

"No, I have a new companion now," the Doctor responded. "Two new companions actually. I will introduce you to them later. We need to get going."

Just as the two of them were about to leave, a voice shout from across the room saying, "Harkness, I thought I told you that I never wanted to see your face in here ever again!"

The Doctor whispered to Jack, "A friend of yours, Captain?"

Jack replied, "Not exactly. He's as psycho as an ex, but we were never together, if you know what I mean. We just had sort of a misunderstanding. We should run now."

"I told you that I'd kill you next time I saw you," the alien shouted again as they took off. "You better run!"

"That sounds like very good advice," the Doctor said as both he and Jack continued running from the room and straight to the TARDIS.

Once they made it inside, Jack allowed the Doctor to go around him in order to work the controls, while he closed the door and took his stand at the console. The TARDIS began to shake and throw both Jack and the Doctor around as they worked together to keep it traveling through space correctly.

Once everything was under control, Jack turned to the Doctor and asked, "So, where are we going now and what did you do with your companions?"

The Doctor answered, "Do you remember Sarah Jane Smith? They are with her."

"Sarah Jane is a part of this too, huh," Jack replied. "How did she become involved?"

"She became involved because the Striga kidnapped her son, Luke," the Doctor responded.

Jack looked at the Doctor and asked surprisingly, "Her son, you mean the genius who gave us the idea to relay our signal to you through every cell phone, when Earth was stolen by the daleks? Why would they kidnap him? He's just a kid."

The Doctor said, "Whatever their plans are, kidnapping him was the beginning. He is in danger and we have to do whatever it takes to save him. Luke Smith is more important than Sarah Jane realizes."

Meanwhile…

As soon as everyone made it back to her home, Sarah Jane told everyone to follow her upstairs to her attic. On her way up, she dropped her coat and purse on the couch, as did Rani. Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani practically ran up the stairs. They were extremely worried about Luke and getting to Mr. Smith in a hurry was what mattered right now.

Clyde, Rani, and Rory all entered Sarah Jane's attic behind her as she spoke quickly, "Mr. Smith, I need you!"

As soon as her command was given, the far wall suddenly began to transform as it disappeared and a supercomputer emerged. Both Amy and Rory stood in their spots and starred at what just happened. After being with the Doctor as long as they had, they didn't believe they could be surprised by much anymore and yet they were constantly.

"You are home earlier than you said you would be, Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith said. "I can see that your heart is racing, which means that there is something upsetting you. What is wrong?"

"Luke has been kidnapped by an android known as a movellan," she answered. "Michael Gant was the movellan and a threat as Luke thought he might be. Oh, why didn't I trust Luke's instincts? I should have known something was wrong. If I did, Luke would be safe."

Clyde spoke up in an attempt to make her feel better and said, "It wasn't just your fault, Sarah Jane. You weren't the only one who didn't believe him. Rani and I both did everything we could to convince Luke he was bonkers."

Rani added, "Clyde is right. We are so sorry. But don't worry, we will get him back. We have the Doctor with us now too. We are unstoppable."

Amy spoke up and asked, "I don't mean to interrupt, but what exactly is a movellan?"

"A movellan is an android that outwardly resembles physically attractive humans, of various ethnicities and both genders," Mr. Smith began. "Being androids, the movellans are stronger and have more endurance than normal humans. However, the major weakness of the movellan design is that each android's external power pack, carried on its belt, can be easily removed to completely shut down the android. The power pack circuitry can also be modified, reprogramming the android to obey human orders."

"That's fantastic," Clyde shouted! "I mean, at least we will easily be able to destroy that guy. Though, it doesn't help us to stop the things that created him."

"Why would these things, whatever they are, go through the trouble of creating a movellan, instead of just coming here to Earth to kidnap Luke themselves," Rani asked?

Sarah Jane shrugged and said, "I don't know. Maybe they couldn't. This isn't the first time an alien used another to help them in their plans. Remember, Mrs. Wormwood used Kaagh to help her find Horath?"

Clyde shook his body in disgust as he replied, "How can I forget? Part of me still wants to be a vegetarian. Mrs. Wormwood was ugly."

"The Doctor mentioned that you and he were companions, earlier." Amy interrupted once again. "That explains how you know all this stuff about aliens, but why on Earth are you not still traveling with him. Did he do something to upset you?"

"Amy, that is not any of our business," Rory responded quickly before she could say anymore.

Amy looked at Rory and asked, "What? I am curious. I mean, I want to know if this means that the Doctor is going to abandon us someday when we get old too."

Rory shouted, "Amy!"

"No offense, Sarah Jane," Amy replied. "I don't mean to be rude. I have a tendency to say things without thinking it the whole way through. I am a bit harsh sometimes. I'm sorry."

Sarah Jane was about to respond to Amy's questions, until suddenly they all turned toward the center of the room as the sound of the TARDIS began to grow louder and louder. As it finally finished its descent, the first one out was the Doctor, followed by the handsome man Sarah Jane had met the time they worked together to bring Earth back to its original place in the universe after it was stolen; Captain Jack Harkness.

"It is an honor to see you again, Ma'am," Jack said as he raised his right hand to his brow in salute.


	6. Chapter 6

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Six

Sarah Jane was curious to know who the Doctor was planning on going to see. She didn't expect it to be the mysterious captain and former companion she had met briefly once before. She also didn't expect the Doctor to bring him back with him. Part of her was grateful that there were so many people to help her save her son and stop the aliens from taking over Earth, but a part of her was also worried. Worried that whatever they had planned was much worse than she imagined it would be. Then again, things always were.

"For those of you who have not met, everyone this is Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor introduced. "Jack, you remember Sarah Jane Smith; obviously. This is Clyde, Rani, and my companions, Amy and Rory. Does everyone know everyone now? Good. Now Sarah Jane, have you learned anything new?"

"Only that the movellan who kidnapped my son is an android that is stronger and has more endurance than we do and he has a weakness that should make him fairly easy to defeat," Sarah Jane replied. "Captain, do you have information about these aliens; any information that might explain why they kidnapped my son?"

Jack explained, "Back when I was with Torchwood, we were forced to destroy the striga; an alien race who wanted to take over Earth. It will be very difficult to destroy them because..."

Sarah Jane interrupted, "How were they planning on taking over Earth when you faced them before and why would they need Luke?"

Jack asked, "Is there something special about him, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

At first, Sarah Jane wasn't sure if she should answer because she worried that the more people who knew the truth about Luke, the greater the danger she was putting him in. However, she knew that the Doctor wouldn't have someone come along him that he didn't trust.

She finally said, "Luke isn't like us. Over a year ago, an alien race known as the Bane invaded Earth with the intention to destroy us all. In order to do so, they made this drink known as Bubbleshock."

Amy interrupted, "Isn't that that hideous drink that turned tons of people into zombies saying, drink it? I remember seeing a few people who were affected and then we saw the news story on the tele."

"Yes, that's right," Rani answered. "The story was a bogus story that Sarah Jane made up to hide the truth of the Bane coming to Earth to turn all humans into one of them. No one would have believed the truth."

"That is absolutely brilliant," Rory cut in. "I'm sorry, go on."

"Anyway, there was two percent of the population that found the drink to be foul," Sarah Jane continued saying. "So, they created an archetype, the perfect human being grown from synthesized DNA, meant to go out into the world to find out what was needed to get the final two percent to like Bubbleshock too. My son, Luke is that boy. I adopted him when the Bane were destroyed. He has the mind of ten thousand humans; the most powerful mind on Earth. The Bane also gave him perfect health; he has a much stronger immune system than most humans. That must be why this alien race wants him. With Luke's mind, the possibilities of what they can accomplish are endless."

Jack responded, "I knew I liked your kid. The striga are going to use him for the same reason as the Bane did. It is what they do. With his mind and abilities; you're right. Their possibilities are endless. Striga have the ability to enter your mind and read all your thoughts and memories. Then, they drain their life force, giving them more strength and energy. They can also turn any human or alien into one of them. My guess, they want to repopulate. As I said, they were all destroyed, obviously except for a few. There can't be many left after what we did to them. Doctor, you said that most of Earth's population was taken over by these things years from now."

Sarah Jane asked, "Wait, are you saying that they took my son and turned him into one of them?"

The Doctor said, "No, I don't believe so. They kidnapped your son to help them learn about this planet. They will, or have already, invade Luke's mind to learn everything he knows. It will give them the knowledge they need to conquer us. They could lose access to that knowledge if they turn him too soon, though they may do so later on. Most likely, the striga will drain most of his life force in order to regain their strength. Luke may be stronger and survive the process, but unless we destroy them, he will die. We must find them before that happens."

"So, what exactly do these things look like," Rani asked?

"Folklore calls them witches," Jack replied. "They don't have the green skin, long, pointed noses, or warts, but they are just as ugly. They have brown, wrinkly skin, they wear long, brown, and hooded robes, and they have long, boney fingers, as you can see from the handprints the striga leave behind."

"Perfect," Clyde responded! "Then they shouldn't be hard to spot. Finding them will be a piece of cake."

Jack said, "I am afraid your wrong, Clyde. The striga also can transform themselves into human beings. They will blend in with everyone else. Besides, we don't know how many we were looking for to begin with and God knows how many there are now."

Rory complained, "How many bloody abilities do these aliens have. They sound like they are impossible to kill."

Jack replied, "No, not impossible, but very difficult. There are two ways of destroying these things. First, you can kill them in their human form, if you know who they are. That was how we destroyed them in the first place. A friend that I worked with in Torchwood invented a device that could identify who was actually human and who was striga. Unfortunately, she died and her device was destroyed when Torchwood was destroyed."

"I'm so sorry, Captain Harkness," Rani apologized.

"What is the second way to kill them," Amy asked?

"This is the most difficult way to stop them, if not impossible," Jack responded. "You can kill them while they are feeding on someone's life force. When done, the life force makes them stronger, but while they are feeding, they are vulnerable and their guard is down. Believe me though; it's hard to catch them in the act."

After listening to all of this information, Sarah Jane finally asked, "How do we reverse what the striga have done to their victims, Captain? How do we save my son?"

Jack answered, "If they turn your son into one of them, I am afraid that there is no way to save him, but if they have drained his life force and he is still alive, then we have to kill the alien who took it from him."

"There is still a good chance we can save him, Sarah Jane," the Doctor spoke again. "I promise you; we will do all we can."

"I'm with you and the Doctor, Ma'am," Jack said in agreement. "We'll find a way."

Then, Sarah Jane turned to her alien computer and asked, "Mr. Smith, I need you to look for any signs of the striga anywhere in the world. Look at police photos for any pictures of the handprints they leave behind, missing persons for strange disappearances, and anything else you can think of. Perhaps they are going to begin close by to where they are hiding out."

Mr. Smith replied, "I am assessing. This information will take time for me to gather."

"Thank you, Mr. Smith," Sarah Jane responded.

Everyone waited patiently, but they were all worried and on edge, especially Sarah Jane. Normally, she fought to do everything she could to make killing an absolute last resort and then when she had no other choice, she felt bad that she had failed to get them to change their minds. However, this time she didn't feel bad in the least bit. This time, they attacked her son. They made this personal.


	7. Chapter 7

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Seven

Shortly after the striga had drained most of his life force from him, Luke had finally fallen unconscious, but it was only a limited relief. When he awoke several hours later, the pain came flooding back. However, despite the pain he felt Luke knew he needed to find a way to escape.

When the Master invaded his mind, Luke's telepathic abilities kicked in and he was able to see the Master's thoughts and memories as well. Luke knew what the striga planned to do and how they planned on doing it. He had to find a way to warn Sarah Jane of the striga's plan to turn the entire Earth's human population into them before they could harm others.

Luke listened for any sign of the striga still being close by, but the room was quiet and dark. The chandelier above him was still lit, but the fires grew fainter as time passed by. The aliens, disguised as humans, were gone. Luke had to act quickly. That is when he remembered there was another being who could be of help to him; Michael.

Luke knew that in time he was going to die from what the striga had done to him. However, he also knew that they would want to keep him alive for as long as possible with the hope of learning more from him. Only the Master had looked inside his mind. In time, the others will come back to do the same. Chances are, the movellan was left behind to keep him alive.

As he struggled with the manacles, Luke saw that they were old and rusted, just like the structure he was in. He saw from the Master's mind that he was in the ruins of a castle, somewhere in Ireland. It was invaded and burned down centuries ago, which made this the ideal reason for them deciding to hide here after Torchwood killed off the rest of their kind. Most of the structure was completely destroyed, like their home world, but somehow the main hall remained standing, even after all these years.

While Luke was deep in his thoughts, Michael walked into the room. The movellan came to Luke's side in order to check to make sure he was well. He checked his vitals and body temperature and in doing so, realized that Luke had a fever that was slowly rising. Luke suddenly had an idea on how to get out of the manacles.

"Michael, I know that the Master left you behind in order to make sure I stay alive until they are finished with me," Luke said. "I haven't eaten for a long time. I am human and I need food. Please, release me so that I can eat. You can put me back in the cell which you took me from earlier."

"I know you need nourishment," Michael replied. "I have brought you some aspirin to help with your pain you must be feeling. You should take them."

Luke nodded and answered, "I will once I eat something. My mum said it is never good to take medicine on an empty stomach."

Michael thought for a moment and responded, "Very well, I will take you back to the cell and bring you something to eat and drink."

"I know that the striga created you in order to come find me and then kidnap me because they couldn't," Luke began to say as the movellan began to remove the manacles around his ankles. "You were in pieces when they found you and they put you back together. Then, they programmed you to do as they want you to do."

"How do you know all of this," Michael asked? "I never told you and neither did my Master."

"He didn't have to," Luke replied. "I know his thoughts, as he knows mine. My mind works differently than others do. I don't think the Master intended for me to know his thoughts. It just happened. I also know that the Master programmed you to do his will, but…"

Michael interrupted Luke and said, "I only obey the Master and he wants me to keep you alive as long as he needs you to be."

Luke sat up slowly and said, "That may be true, but I can help you if you let me. You know I can. Then, you can do as you want without taking orders from someone. Give me a minute and I can reset your programming. If you help me, then I can help you."

Michael answered, "No, I will do as the Master ordered."

"Sarah Jane will come for me and she will destroy you," Luke responded. "You will end up as scrap metal, just like you were before."

"Enough," Michael shouted as he finally unlocked the last manacle and pulled him down from the altar!"

Michael led Luke back to the cell he had first woken up in. Luke knew how to reprogram the movellan, thanks to the Master's thoughts. He just needed to find a way to throw him off guard, long enough to reach his belt. He was weak and getting weaker as time passed by. Being an android, Luke knew that Michael was much stronger than he was.

Luke suddenly grabbed a torch from the wall of the room they had just entered into and used it to set the movellan's shirt on fire. Michael let go of Luke and concentrated on putting out the flame. As he did so, Luke managed to pull of the belt which held the power pack, causing Michael to become immobile. Luke finished putting out the fire and then collapsed to the floor. He didn't have the energy to stand up on his own any longer. He held up the power pack and began to modify its circuitry. After a few minutes, he had finished and placed the pack and belt back on the movellan.

Michael rebooted and asked, "Your name is Luke Smith; what can I do for you?"

Luke replied, "I need you to show me your transporter that you used to bring me here. I need to get back home in order to warn my Mum about the striga's plans to destroy Earth. We have to stop them."

"I can do that," the movellan said. "The transporter is a machine which I constructed for the Master so that the striga would be able to go wherever they want. I also built them devices they can attach to their wrist like a watch, which connects to the machine. This is so they can come back at any time. They are all being used."

"That's all right," Luke responded. "I only need to get home. We will find another way back here if we need to. We need to hurry. I don't know how much longer I can remain conscious."

Michael helped Luke walk to the machine. Luke examined it and told Michael that he was very impressed. Then, together they set it to send them both to where they needed to go; 13 Bannerman Road.


	8. Chapter 8

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Eight

Back in Sarah Jane's attic…

After waiting patiently for Mr. Smith to give them information about any mysterious disappearances or handprints on the walls found by the police, Mr. Smith was not able to locate anything throughout the last few years. However long these striga had been back on earth for, they have not harmed anyone except Luke.

Sarah Jane was getting more and more frustrated because this information wasn't helping them to find out where the aliens were hiding and holding her son. Clyde, Rani, Amy, Rory, and Jack watched as both Sarah Jane and the Doctor paced back and forth across the attic floor. They knew the outcome of what the striga had planned and they knew the basic idea of their plans, but they had no idea how they were going to stop them. So far, they had no clue if Luke was alive or dead.

After a few minutes, Mr. Smith spoke up saying, "Sarah Jane, I have records of five different people recently admitted to the hospital with pneumonia like symptoms and unconscious, all within minutes of each other. According to a news report, the younger sister of one of these patients stated she saw a monster attacking her brother."

Jack responded, "It's begun. Luckily they won't feed again until at least tomorrow night, but we still have no way of knowing what the striga look like in their human forms."

"How are we supposed to locate them then," Rory asked. "There has to be a way."

"There were reports of only five attacks," Amy said. "Does that mean that there are only five aliens who survived?"

The Doctor replied, "Perhaps, but there may have been more attack that have yet to be reported."

Sarah Jane added, "We also don't know if they have turned any humans into one of them. There could be several by now."

"If we do find them, will anything work to kill them, or do we have to have something special to do it," Clyde asked?

"Anything will work," Jack answered. "I have access to plenty of guns, so that won't be a problem."

"But Sarah Jane taught us to do all we can to save the aliens that visit here and that violence and guns never solve problems, they just add to them," Rani said.

Sarah Jane spoke up saying, "You're right Rani, but these circumstances are different. In order to save Luke and the others, the striga have to die. I don't like it, but they attacked us first. We have to defend ourselves. Just like when the Blathereen attacked us with the ragweed. The Captain is right. We have no choice."

The Doctor added, "The striga will never stop no matter how hard we try to convince them to stop. Their whole race was destroyed and those who survived were forced to go into hiding for years. They will have an extreme hunger for revenge. They will not stop!"

Amy said, "One question still remains. Rory was right in asking, how do we find them?"

Just as Jack was about to say something, a blue glow suddenly appeared in the attic and then disappeared as quickly as it came. Standing there, were Luke and Michael. For a moment, everyone just stared at them, until Luke collapsed to the floor. Sarah Jane rushed over to him, as did the Doctor. Luke was still conscious, but barely. He looked into his mother's eyes and a weak smile appeared on his face.

Clyde and Rani ran forward and stood between Luke and Michael. They weren't about to allow the movellan attack their friend again, or anyone else for that matter. However, Michel just stood there, waiting for Luke to give him some kind of order.

"Mum, I made it," Luke said quietly.

"I was hoping that you would find a way to escape," Sarah Jane replied. "I was so worried. You are going to be all right. The Doctor is here now too, along with a few more friends."

Luke tried to get up quickly, but was unable to as he said, "The alien race who kidnapped me, they are called the striga. We have to stop them! They…"

Sarah Jane interrupted him saying, "We already know. You need to relax. We are figuring out what we are going to do right now."

"Why is he here and why isn't he attacking us," Clyde asked as he pointed to the movellan? "As I remember it, he was the one who started all of this in the first place. This is all his fault."

"No it isn't," Luke replied. "He was programmed by the striga to do whatever they wanted him to do."

The Doctor asked, "Luke, do you know how many striga there are who survived?"

Luke answered, "Five, there was f…"

Luke was still conscious, but he was too weak to talk any longer. Jack knelt down beside him and helped Sarah Jane lift him up to carry him over to the couch. She lay him down, covered him up with a blanket, and placed her hand on top of his head to feel for a fever. As she did, she felt heat radiating from his body. She looked at him with fear and then up to the Doctor, who once again knelt at Luke's side.

"What is wrong with my son, Doctor," she asked? "He is burning up and very weak. One of the striga stole his life force, didn't they?"

"It looks that way, yes," the Doctor answered. "The other victims were reported to have pneumonia like symptoms and are unconscious. Luke is displaying the same symptoms, except for being unconscious."

"It's because of his stronger immune system, right," Rani asked?

The Doctor agreed, "Yes, but soon he will be just like the others and eventually he will die, unless we stop them. They will all die."

Sarah Jane looked back down at her son and cried, "Oh Luke, I am so sorry that I didn't trust you when you said there was something wrong the other day. I shouldn't keep telling you to second guess the thoughts and feeling that go thought your mind."

"The thoughts in his mind," the Doctor shouted! "Oh Sarah Jane Smith, you are brilliant!"

"What are you thinking, Doctor," Jack asked?

The Doctor looked into Luke's eyes and said, "Luke's mind holds all the answers we are looking for, Captain. I can read his thoughts to find out what we need to know. Luke, I know that you would share everything if you could, but I need you to let me enter your mind. You hold the key to stopping them. It will be uncomfortable for you, but as long as you keep your mind open to me, it won't be painful. May I?"

Luke nodded and closed his eyes as the Doctor placed his hands on the sides of his head. He then entered into the boy's mind, which was full of amazing thoughts and ideas. It was the mind of ten thousand people and it was taking the Doctor more time than he expected to search for the answers they were looking for.

"Luke, I need you to listen to me," the Doctor spoke. "I need you to concentrate on what you learned from the striga while they had you. I need you to show me what they did to you. Show me everything."

Luke did as he was asked. He concentrated on the striga alone, but after a few minutes, he began to feel pain. It was building up slowly and becoming more and more intense, just as the pain he felt from when the Master had forced his way into his head.

Sarah Jane held her son's hands and looked down at his face as she saw tears forming under his eyes. His hands grew tighter in hers and she began to worry that something was very wrong. Suddenly, Luke began to scream, as did the Doctor. Sarah Jane kept her hold on Luke, while Jack and Amy did everything they could to pull the Doctor away from him. After a minute, the Doctor finally released Luke and collapsed to the floor as Luke had earlier. Luke had fallen unconscious.

"Luke, Luke," Sarah Jane cried! "Doctor, what happened? What is wrong with him? I thought you said he wouldn't be in pain."

"Luke concentrated as I asked, but I am afraid the striga did more than I realized they would," the Doctor responded. "Things are much worse."


	9. Chapter 9

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Nine

The Doctor stood up and began to pace across the attic once again. Jack, Amy, and Rory just watched the Doctor, as Sarah Jane stood up and followed the Doctor. Clyde and Rani took her place beside Luke. They were very scared for him. They had never once heard a scream like that and they have never seen Luke in such pain.

"What do you mean things are much worse," Sarah Jane asked? "Doctor, what did those things do to my son? What did you see?"

"Doctor, she has a right to know what the striga did we need to know their plans if we are going to stop them," Jack said.

The Doctor finally responded, "We are dealing with at least five of them. They are now in human form and have already begun to feed on others, as we already know from the news reports. They plan on repopulating as Captain Jack said they would by turning most humans into them, but first they have to gain enough strength by stealing some of their life forces. Thanks to Luke, I know what the five striga look like in their human form."

Sarah Jane asked, "What about Luke? What did the Master do to him?"

"You are not going to like what I am about to say, Sarah Jane," the Doctor replied.

"I already know that, Doctor," she said. "Please, tell me. I have to know."

The Doctor explained, "The Master fed on Luke's life force, as well as the other four striga. Anyone else would be dead now from being fed on by more than one of these aliens, but he is still alive. However, he is fading and in a lot of pain. The pneumonia symptoms are killing him, but much more slowly. Luke's mind is absolutely amazing."

Sarah Jane interrupted, "Amazing, he is amazing, but you have no idea how much Luke longs to be just a normal fifteen year old boy. He struggles everyday with trying to fit in because he has the mind of ten thousand people, he has no birthday because he was never born, he knows things like quantum and string theory, and he has no belly button. He is wanted by many different aliens to help them take over the world because of his mind, like now. He also fears that one day, UNIT and other humans will learn about what he is and either will want to do experiments on him or will think of him like he is a freak. These things remind him every day that he is not like others and deep down it hurts him, though he would never admit it to me or to Clyde and Rani. He is amazing, but it isn't always a good thing."

"All of that may be true, but today him being different is also keeping him alive and it is giving us the chance to stop the striga from doing what the Doctor, Amy, and Rory have seen in the future," Jack said.

"We will save him, Sarah Jane," the Doctor replied. "He found a way to get back home so that he could warn us. He showed me the knowledge I needed for us to defeat the striga. He is strong and he will survive. We will stop them."

"So, what do we do then, Doctor," Amy asked. "Each of the striga are in different places according to the news reports, Mr. Smith showed us, but what if there are more by now? How do we find and stop them?"

Rory spoke up saying, "Amy's right. You only know what the five of them look like. How are we going to figure out what other humans are actually striga?"

The Doctor replied, "Those are all very good questions and I am not sure what the answers are right now, but we will figure it out once we find the Master. I will be able to get the right answers from him."

Clyde asked, "And what about Luke? It sounds like we are all going to be needed to take out each of the striga, but we can't just leave him here alone."

"He needs someone to take care of him," Rani agreed.

"They are right," Sarah Jane responded. "I will not leave Luke alone. Mr. Smith can only protect him in case the striga come here to take him back. Luke needs someone to help take care of him."

"I can take care of him," Michael said.

Clyde laughed and said, "What on earth makes you think that we would trust you to take care of Luke, when you kidnapped him for the striga in the first place."

The movellan responded, "Luke reprogrammed me to obey his orders now. He gave me the order to do whatever any of you asked me to do. You need someone to look after him, I can do it."

The Doctor walked up to the android and began to circle around him as he replied, "Yes, I believe the movellan can be of help to us. However, I think that he would be more useful to us if he were to accompany one of us going after the striga."

"I can watch over Luke," Rani said. "Clyde can go with Michael since he is so suspicious of him."

"That is a very good idea, Rani," Sarah Jane agreed. "Are you all right with that Clyde?"

Clyde nodded and said, "Yes, Ma'am. I will keep a close eye on him."

The Doctor finally stopped examining Michael and asked, "Michael, is it? Can you take us all back to where you and the striga were holding Luke? Back to where the machine is that you used to transport yourselves here. We can use it to help us get to them more quickly and then we must destroy it so that it cannot be used if found by anyone or anything else. We can travel there in the TARDIS.

"Yes, I can tell you where the transporter is," Michael answered.

"Very good then," the Doctor replied. "I suggest that we get going before the striga have time to feed on more people or to turn more of them into one of them. We need to save as many people as we can."

Jack spoke up saying, "I'm ready to finish what Torchwood should have before. If we had made sure they were all completely destroyed, this would not have happened. Sarah Jane, I am so sorry."

She replied as she kissed Jack on his cheek, "There is no need to apologize, Captain. I know that you did everything you could to stop them. You are here now to help me to save my son. I can't thank you enough. You are a good man."

Together, the seven of them all gathered into the TARDIS, while Rani stayed behind to take care of Luke as she had promised. They traveled to the castle ruins in which the striga hid after their destruction. Little did they know that two of them had returned along with several newly created striga.


	10. Chapter 10

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Ten

Once the TARDIS landed at their destination, the Doctor, Jack, Sarah Jane, Clyde, Michael, Amy, and Rory all stepped out and were surprised to find a place that had once been practically destroyed, in the shape that it was now. The castle was still in ruin, but it looked as if the striga had rebuilt it as much as they could before they grew too weak.

The Doctor turned to the movellan and said, "All right, Michael. I need you to take us to the machine right now. We don't have a lot of time to waste."

Michael replied, "Of course, it is this way."

Everyone followed behind Michael and when they got to the transporter, the Doctor ran up to it, as did Jack. They walked around it as if it were the Hope Diamond. No one else saw what was so spectacular about it, but they looked at it anyway.

"This machine is absolutely amazing," the Doctor said again. You, movellan are very clever indeed."

"Your TARDIS is what is amazing, Doctor," Clyde responded. "I don't see what is so great about this machine."

Amy looked at Clyde and asked, "You are not very forgiving, are you?"

Clyde looked at her and replied, "Not when it comes to those who harm the people that I care about."

"Luke reprogrammed Michael to be on our side, Clyde," Sarah Jane said in the movellan's defense. If the aliens are remorseful and they work hard to make up for the things they have done wrong, then they deserve our forgiveness."

"I know you're right, Sarah Jane," Clyde responded.

"So, now that we have found the transporter, what are we supposed to do with it," Rory asked?

The Doctor answered, "We use it to go to where the striga are that fed on Luke. That is once I figure out how it works. I will go after the Master."

Sarah Jane replied, "Doctor, please hurry. We have to find them soon. Luke will not last much longer."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, as Sarah Jane pulled out her sonic lipstick and they worked on the machine, along with Jack and Michael. Amy, Rory, and Clyde stood back to watch. Michael explained everything to them that they needed to know about the machine.

When they were finished, the Doctor shouted, "Eureka! Michael you are a genius. Luke is a genius for reprogramming you to be on our side. Well done. All right is everyone ready? There are at least five striga that we know about, which means that we are going to have to split up in order to finish this as soon as possible.

"What about weapons," Rory asked? "We don't have anything to fight them with. How are we supposed to stop them?"

"I think that I can help with that," Jack responded as he held up his wrist to reveal his old broken transporter he used several times before. "Doctor, can you loan me your magic? I can go and be back in two seconds with weapons."

"We need to try to talk to them, first," the Doctor replied. "They have the ability to reverse what they have done. I saw this in Luke's mind. Luke can still be saved without us having to kill them."

Jack looked at the Doctor and said, "Their world was destroyed and Torchwood finished off most of the survivors. The striga are ruthless and want to kill every living human being. They will not save Sarah Jane's son, no matter how nice we ask them. You know that."

Sarah Jane put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder and added, "Doctor, normally, I would do everything I can to save all alien races that come to our world, despite what their intentions are, but Captain Harkness is right. They will not stop and I will do whatever I have to do to save my son. Even if that means they must die. It is to defend my family and our planet."

The Doctor looked at Sarah Jane, then at Jack, Amy, Rory, and Clyde and when he realized that they all stood behind Sarah Jane, he responded, "You are right. Even I have killed aliens who leave me no choice, but to kill them. Jack, go and get your weapons, but hurry back."

"Yes Sir," Jack said as he disappeared as soon as the Doctor fixed his wristband once again.

"So, how are we going to split up then," Amy asked? "There are five of them and seven of us."

The Doctor looked around and answered, "As I said, I am going after the Master. Sarah Jane you are on your own and so is Jack. Amy, you and Michael are going together. Michael, can you fight?"

The movellan replied, "If you order me to, I can."

"Good," the Doctor said. "Good, then you will go with Amy as I said. Rory, you and Clyde will go together. I know what each of the striga look like in their human forms. I will send you all their images telepathically."

"That is so cool," Clyde said after the Doctor finished showing him what his alien looked like. "What else can you do, Doctor?"

Before the Doctor could answer, there were noises coming from behind them. As they turned around to look, they saw several of the striga coming toward them. They backed up slowly and looked around for something that they could use to defend themselves.

Amy asked, "Doctor, I thought you said that there were only five of them? I'm counting at least eight!"

The Doctor replied, "I said that there was a chance that there are more by now. Apparently, I was right. We have to get out of here, now!"

"Don't worry, everyone," Jack shouted as he suddenly reappeared right between his friends and the striga who were closing in on them. "I'm back and I've got our weapons. We are good to go!"

"Once again, Captain, your timing is impeccable," Sarah Jane said as Jack tossed her and the others laser gun.

The Doctor nodded and replied, "Yes, Jack, can you stay behind and deal with them while we head off to go after ours? Rory, you and Clyde are in luck. Your alien came back here along with Jack's. Is everyone else ready? We need to go. One at a time; Amy and Michael, you're first."

The Doctor fired up the machine and sent Amy and Michael to where their striga had placed itself. Then, he sent Sarah Jane and lastly, he transported himself to where the Master had gone. Jack, Clyde, and Rory, all stayed behind to fight off the striga's stranding in front of them.


	11. Chapter 11

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Eleven

Inside the castle ruins…

Jack, Clyde, and Rory fought off several of the striga, but they weren't getting anywhere. Unfortunately, most of them were in their alien form, making it impossible for the team to kill them. Every time they shot them, they would get right back up. Those that were in their human form were being protected.

It was then that Jack saw the striga which he had been assigned to kill, one of the ones who fed on Luke's life force. The one which was assigned to Rory and Clyde was right behind the other.

Jack suddenly had an idea on how to kill the two, even though it would only make the new striga angrier. He pulled both Rory and Clyde behind him and told them to duck as he pulled out a special grenade, which was made for him when he was still with Torchwood.

"Fire in the hole," Jack shouted as he threw the grenade at all of the striga!

They shrieked in pain and anger as the grenade blew. When the dust cleared, the two striga that fed on Luke were destroyed and the rest of them were down. However, Jack, Rory, and Clyde knew that they would rise in just a few minutes. Jack turned around and ordered Clyde and Rory to run before the striga came to.

As they ran through the ruins, they looked for a place to hide long enough for them to come up with a plan on how to destroy a large group of aliens that were invincible. They finally found it in the cell room where the striga had first held Luke. It wouldn't be long before the striga found them again.

"What good is hiding," Rory asks? "Those things will find us and then feed on our life forces as well, if they don't decide to turn us into one of them instead. I am not exactly sure which one would be worse."

"I think that it would be worse to have your life force drained from you," Clyde answered. "At least if they turn us into one of them, we will no longer be ourselves. We'll be just like them, with no knowledge of who we once were. Captain, please tell me that you have a plan. How are we supposed to stop them when our weapons are useless?"

Rory said, "I know that it is our responsibility to destroy the rest of these things as well, but I just want to point out that it is so not fair that we are the ones fighting off a dozen more. I just want to jump into transporter and get to wherever the Doctor sent Amy. I hope that she is all right."

Jack replied, "Don't worry. I'm sure that Amy is just fine. She seems tough enough to give these aliens hell. The Doctor wouldn't have chosen her or you to be his companions if he didn't think that you were capable of doing whatever is necessary and right now I need you both to listen to me very carefully. I have a plan, but you have do exactly what I say, when I say it. Do you understand?"

"What exactly do we have to do," Clyde asked? "It isn't going to hurt, is it?"

"No," Jack responded. "All you two have to do is throw my last grenade at them and me as soon as they begin to feed on my life force. Just be sure to back off to avoid being blown up yourselves."

Rory asked, "Are you insane? You can't let them all feed on you at once and we certainly are not going to be the ones to kill you. Surely you can come up with a better plan than that!"

Clyde added, "Rory's right. I will never forgive myself if I am responsible for killing you. I may not know you well, but you are pretty cool."

"I appreciate the compliment," the Captain replied. "The two of you are all right too. Don't worry about me. I will come back. I always do."

"What do you mean, you'll come back," Rory asked?

Jack answered, "I've died a millions of times and in millions of different ways. Being blown up is nothing. I just need you two to trust me, I'll be fine."

Rory shook his head and responded, "I still don't understand what you mean, but we trust you. We'll do it."

The striga soon found them and as they were approaching, Jack tossed Rory the grenade and his backpack that he had been carrying to Clyde, then winked at the boys. He suddenly ran toward them and did all he could to provoke them, hoping that they would begin to drain his life force, rather than decide to turn him into one of them.

Captain Jack Harkness fought all of them and kept them from attacking the boys. Clyde and Rory watched in awe and shock as he fought with all the strength he had. They wanted to jump in and help him, but Jack needed them to do exactly what he said, or the plan would fail.

The six striga finally overpowered Jack and all began to drain his life force in order to subdue him and make him weak. A glow began to come from Jack's body and enter into each of the striga.

Finally after a minute, Rory holds up the grenade, pulls the pin, and throws it into the circle of aliens with Jack in the middle, as he and Clyde close their eyes and duck to keep from getting hurt themselves.

Once the fire died down, Rory and Clyde looked over to where Jack and the striga were just before and then stood up straight. Suddenly, Sarah Jane and Amy come running into the room from where they heard the explosion and sood behind the boys.

Amy asks, "What just happened? Are you boys all right?"

Sarah Jane adds, "Where is Jack?"

Rory and Clyde were about to speak and tell them that the Captain was dead, until a voice suddenly came out from the smoke that had yet to clear saying, "I'm perfectly fine, except that I am no longer wearing clothes. Clyde, if you would toss me my bag that I gave to you to hold onto for me earlier. I'd appreciate that."

A few minutes later, Captain Jack Harkness came walking out of the smoke fully clothed once again in the same uniform and in perfect condition, aside from the ash all over his body. At first, everyone just looked at him with their mouths gaped open, as if he were a ghost. When he came up to Clyde and patted him on the shoulder, they realized that Jack was the same as he was before.

"How on earth did you survive after getting blown to pieces," Clyde asked? "There is no way anyone could have survived that and come out in perfect shape."

Jack just responded, "It's a long story. I'll explain everything when this is all over."

Sarah Jane patted Jack on the shoulder and suddenly shouted, "We need to get back to Luke! I have to see that he is still alive."

Together, Sarah Jane, Jack, Rory, Amy, and Clyde all ran back to the transporter and used it to transport themselves back to Sarah Jane's home, where Rani was watching over her son. Sarah Jane prayed that her son was still fighting.


	12. Chapter 12

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile…

The Doctor landed the TARDIS in an alleyway, in hopes of keeping it as hidden and out of sight from the people who lived there, while he went out in search for the Master. When he read Luke's mind to find out where the Master had gone, he saw that out of all the places the alien could have chosen, it landed in Luke's hometown.

The Doctor figured that the Master chose this town because it knew that it was the only place Luke really knew; the only place he ever lived. It was kind of a slap in the face, just to spite the fifteen year old boy; one more thing that would cause him pain.

As the Doctor walked through the streets, everything seemed completely normal. Children were playing on the school playgrounds, men and women were kissing and holding hands while they sat together on the park benches, and the businesses around them continued to function as usual.

However, the Doctor knew that there was at least one being among the people, who was not who he seemed. One of them was the Master and there were possibly even more striga in their human form now as well. The Doctor only knew the Master's persona. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy to find him, or so he thought.

Suddenly, a young woman came running through a crowd of people screaming. The Doctor ran after her and when he caught her, he asked her what was wrong. She told him that she just watched her friend being killed by a monster.

"This monster you saw, did it look like a wrinkled, brown witch wearing a cloak to hide its face and body," the Doctor asked? "Did it have long, boney fingers?"

"Yes, it killed my friend," the woman answered. "You've seen it too? Please come with me to the police and explain that to them. They will never believe me when I tell them a monster killed her. They'll think I'm crazy. I think I'm crazy."

The Doctor looked at her and then quickly replied, "It is actually not a monster at all. It's an alien from another world."

The woman just stared at him and responded, "You are even crazier than I am. How dare you make fun of me, I know what I saw. It was a monster!"

"Wait a minute," the Doctor shouted after her as she started to run away! "Which way is the monster?"

"On the other side of the fountain in the middle of the park," she shouted back!

The doctor turned around to run in the direction that the young woman had just come from. When he got to where the woman told him her friend was when she was attacked, he saw that one of the new striga was still feeding on the poor woman's life force.

The Doctor ran to them as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the striga. He fired a laser from the screwdriver directly at its heart and it fell off of the woman, dead. The woman suddenly sat up and starred at the Doctor, without saying a word to. Then, she quickly stood up and ran away from the man who had just saved her life.

"You're welcome," the Doctor shouted after her as she did so!

He knelt down beside the dead striga and could not help but feel guilty for killing another living being. It wasn't in his nature to kill, unless it was necessary, and it hurt him whenever they gave him no choice. However, the striga will show no mercy because of the destruction of their kind. They blamed the humans for their death, but in truth it was the time lords' fault; his fault. Their war was what first destroyed most of the striga. Then, Torchwood tried to finish the job. The striga wanted revenge and the Doctor knew there was no stopping them without killing them before they destroyed the entire human population.

The Doctor snapped out of his own thoughts, reached down to put his hands on the sides of the striga's head as he had done to Luke, and searched its thoughts for information. First, he learned that this striga was the only one which the Master had created so far. Then, the Doctor searched its thoughts in hopes of finding the whereabouts of the Master.

As he found out where the alien had gone to, the Doctor quickly stood and began to run to the TARDIS. He discovered that the Master had gone to the last place he expected him to go; Sarah Jane's home at 13 Bannerman Road. It was once again after Luke and now had the strength to do it itself.

Meanwhile…

Rani just walked back into the attic, where Luke was still lying on the couch, burning up with a dangerously high fever. She had gone to get more cool water that she could use with a wash towel to help to bring the fever down. However, Rani was unsure of how much help she was really being.

The more that she stroked his forehead with the wet towel, the more fear that she felt. She was afraid that he was going to die. He looked so small and weak; it was painful for her to see. She had never before lost someone whom she cared about so much. It wasn't love by any means. Luke was just a very dear friend or a little brother.

A few minutes later, the attic once again lit up as a blue glow shined and revealed a complete stranger as it disappeared. Rani stood up slowly and moved to stand in front of Luke. From the look in the man's eyes and the grin on his face, Rani could tell that this man was not a man at all, but one of the striga.

Rani's suspicions were confirmed as it transformed into his true form. The alien was much taller than she expected and much scarier. Suddenly, the creature charged at her with a speed she couldn't even see and threw her with great force into the wall of the attic. Then, it was on top of her and began to force her mouth open in an attempt to drain her life force. However, it was suddenly interrupted by a blast from a laser gun. The alien glared as it looked into the eyes of the man who was responsible for killing the rest of its kind; Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood.

"Mr. Smith, I need you to contain the striga now," Sarah Jane commanded.

However, the striga was too fast as it disappeared and reappeared next to Luke. Sarah Jane shouted for her son as he was once again taken from her. The alien touched Luke's chest and the two of them disappeared.

It was then that they heard the sound of the TARDIS coming back. As soon as it landed, the Doctor stepped out and looked around at the fear on the faces of his friends and companions and he realized that he was too late. The Master had already come and had taken Luke once again.

The Doctor held his hand out to Sarah Jane as he said, "Everyone, come quickly. I know where the Master has taken Luke and I think I have an idea on how to save him, but we must hurry."


	13. Chapter 13

A Powerful Mind

Chapter Thirteen

The Doctor and Jack worked on the TARDIS' controls while everyone else stood back and waited for him to land it wherever the striga, the Doctor called the Master, took Sarah Jane's son, Luke. Sarah Jane was angry. That thing had already taken her son once. This time, he had no strength left to fight it off. He was unconscious when she saw him for the brief moment before it took him.

Rani walked up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder as she said, "I'm so sorry, Sarah Jane. That thing came from out of nowhere and attacked me. Mr. Smith couldn't even stop it. It was too fast."

Sarah Jane looked at her and replied, "It wasn't your fault Rani. I know that and I certainly do not blame you. I should have realized that it could have come back to take Luke again. If I had, I could have order Mr. Smith to put you and Luke in a force field for protection. I'm sorry."

"This isn't your fault either, Sarah Jane," Amy said as she joined in on their conversation. "We all underestimated their power. If it were not for Michael, I would be dead right now."

"What do you mean if it weren't for Michael," Rory asked?

Clyde added, "That's right, what happened to him anyway? He isn't with us anymore."

Amy answered, "The striga that I went after had overpowered me. It was too fast for me to shoot and it jumped me. It was about to transform into its alien form to feed on my life force as I shouted for Michael to help me and the next thing I know, Michael sacrifices himself in order to destroy the thing. Michael used the fire from the fireplace in the house we were in and set the whole house on fire. He shouted for me to run and I did as he held the striga back. They both burned. Michael was ok after all, as Luke said he was."

"Now I feel terrible for doubting him," Clyde responded. "You would think that I would have learned my lesson by now."

"I hate to interrupt this fault-finding conversation right now, but we have arrived," the Doctor said quickly.

Sarah Jane asked, "Doctor, where are we? How do you know that this is where the Master took my son?"

The Doctor replied, "I know because I read its mind. Actually, I read Luke's mind, who read its mind, although not intentionally and well that can get complicated. Anyway, the important thing is that while seeing its thoughts, I saw deep enough to have it reveal a place where the Master had once gone without its subjects; a hiding place. For some reason, it never even revealed it to them. A bit selfish, I think."

"It looks to me like the Master was hiding some kind of secret," Rory said. "The question is why? If its intentions were to feed on most of us and then repopulate its race with the rest of us, why would the Master want a place only it knew about?"

"I think that is about to be revealed to us right now," the Doctor answered.

After they all exited the TARDIS, they walked into a cave and toward the back there was a woman kneeling on the ground next to a bed on which Luke lay. Sarah Jane started to run to her son until Jack grabbed her and held her back as the Master in his alien form walked forward, blocking their path.

It was the first to speak asking, "Doctor, how did you find this place? Only I and my companion know where it is."

The Doctor replied, "Yes, well not anymore. I too have the ability to read minds and when I looked into Luke's mind, I saw everything. He unintentionally read every thought in your mind as well when you forced your way into his. You traded memories so to speak. He is a very gifted child who deserves to live a full life and I will not allow you to take that away from him."

"Who is the woman, Doctor," Sarah Jane asked?

"She is still a human and she and the Master are in love," Jack responded before the Doctor had the chance. "That would be the only reason why she is perfectly safe and why she is hidden here, away from the other striga. Am I right Doctor?"

"Exactly right," the Doctor said as he starred directly at the Master. "You went to feed on her when you first came here and something about her made you feel different. You were drawn to her because she was beautiful. Then, you read her mind and found that she was not afraid of you. In fact, she was fascinated and wanted to know more about you. Eventually, you fell in love with her and couldn't bring yourself to destroy what she was. So, you hid her here from the rest of your kind because they would never understand you saving the life of one of things you see as monsters."

The Master looked at the woman and then back at the Doctor as it replied, "I could not destroy what she is, but no other human is like she is, except for this boy. He is not like other humans. We have the chance to shape his mind to what we want. I saw it when I searched his thoughts. I know exactly what he is. A creature grown from synthesized DNA. How dare you take him from his true potential and manipulate him to be human like you!"

Sarah Jane stepped in and stood by the Doctor as she spoke firmly, "Luke is human in every way and he is my son! We did not manipulate his mind into doing anything. Luke chose to be with me. He wants to be with me and I love him! You will not take him from me!"

"If you want him to live, only I can save him," the Master said. "I will not unless he stays with me. Hannah always wanted a child. She will love him, as will I."

"You are incapable of real love," Jack said. "And so is she if she can remain here while you go out and destroy the rest of her own kind. The two of you love each other in some twisted way, but that is all you are capable of."

Hannah moved away from the bed and stood next to the Master as she said, "What is more important to you, Sarah Jane Smith; that the boy you love lives, or that he lives as you command him to live? We can save him and he will be cared for."

The Doctor interrupted saying, "Sarah Jane is Luke's mother and I will not allow either of you to keep him, or to continue to kill anymore humans. I protect Earth and everyone in it. The rest of the striga are already dead. Either restore Luke's life and leave this planet together, or we will kill you too, while Hannah goes to prison for the rest of her life; choose."

The Master suddenly disappeared and reappeared right next to Luke. It reached down and forced its way inside his mind, knowing that the strain would kill him. Luke screamed in pain and Sarah Jane ran to him along with Jack and the others, as the Doctor teleported himself over to the Master as quickly as he could. They fought and suddenly they both disappeared, leaving Luke on the bed and Hannah behind.

Rory and Amy held on to Hannah as she struggled, calling out to the Master. Sarah Jane pulled Luke into her arms while Jack checked to see if he was still alive. He was not breathing, nor did he have a pulse. Sarah Jane wept as Jack stood and apologized for her loss. Rani, Clyde, Rory, and Amy looked on with sad eyes. The girls had tears pouring down their faces, while the boys just kept the tears inside. Hannah only smiled.

A few minutes later, the Doctor finally reappeared and ran over to where Sarah Jane was holding her son in her arms. He quickly raised his hands to the sides of the boy's head and closed his eyes. He was concentrating hard on something when all of a sudden, Luke gasped and began to breathe.

Everyone looked at Luke as he began to stir in his mother's arms, then looked directly at the Doctor as he said, "In time, Luke will be just fine. I managed to kill the Master just in time to save him."

Amy asked, "But how did you do that? Luke was dead, we all saw it. Jack felt for a pulse and there was none, nor was he breathing. How did you revive him?"

The Doctor looked at her and answered, "After everything that you have seen me do, you still question how I perform miracles? Amy Pond, I am surprised at you. When will you ever learn that I am the Doctor and that I can do the impossible?"

Later that evening…

Sarah Jane sat on a chair in her attic that was placed next to the couch where her son lay, still recovering from his ordeal with the Master. He was still very weak, but awake and alert. The two of them watched as Clyde and Rani shook hands with the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Jack while they said their goodbyes.

"You guys are totally cool," Clyde was saying. "And the TARDIS, Doctor it was amazing!"

"Thank you, Clyde," the Doctor responded. "You're right. It is amazing and all of you were absolutely brilliant the last few days. We saved Luke and the world once again together."

Jack walked over to Sarah Jane and Luke and said, "Luke, we couldn't have done any of that if it weren't for you. You have quite the gift. You take care of yourself and your mother, you hear me?"

Luke shook his head and answered, "Yes, Sir! Thank you all for saving me. Especially you Doctor. Thank you."

"If you need me, I will always be here for you; all of you," the Doctor replied. "Just give me a call."

"Doctor," Luke shouted as he and the others were about to step inside his blue, police box. "Is there any chance that someday you will come back so that I could get a ride in the TARDIS? I didn't get to this time around."

Everyone laughed as the Doctor said, "I would be happy to have you join us for a trip to another world anytime, Luke. As soon as you're well. We can go to Barcelona. It is absolutely beautiful!"

The End


	14. Thank You

Thank you to all those who have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I am honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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